Apply for school transport

Applying for school transport

Your children may be able to get travel assistance to school depending on how far the walk is and any special needs they have.

All children who are in reception year (age 5) to the end of year 11 qualify for travel assistance if they go to their nearest suitable or catchment school and live at least:

  • 2 miles from the school if they are under 8
  • 3 miles from the school if they are 8 or older. The statutory walking distances are measured by the shortest available walking route
  • live in an area where there are no viable walking routes

Please note

If you make a parental preference selection of a school that is not your nearest or catchment school, you may not be eligible for travel assistance.

For children with SEND, please refer to page 4 as walking distances may not apply in cases where it is identified that they are unable to safely walk the journey to and from school (accompanied where a parent/carer would normally be expected to do so) due to their SEND needs.

If your child is changing school, please contact the school transport team quoting your original application case number. Submitting duplicate applications may delay the processing of your application.

Upper and secondary schools: the application deadline was 31 March 2024. Late applications will be processed as soon as possible but might be delayed until after the October half-term.

Primary, lower and middle schools: the application was 19 May 2024. Late applications will be processed as soon as possible but might be delayed until after the October half-term.

You can't apply for school transport until we've confirmed your school place. National offer day for September 2024 admissions are 1 March for secondary and upper school and 17 April for lower, primary, and middle school. You may apply for SEN transport as soon as your placement is confirmed and the EHCP has been finalised.

Apply now for school transport

Check the status of your application

Check the status of your bus pass application

Please select the application from the page, the timeline will display the current stage of progress.

Policies for school transport

The following policies govern our school transport service:

The Department Of Education has made a really useful guide for parents regarding school transport which you may find useful to explain our policies. Free school transport explained: From who’s eligible to how it works - The Education Hub (blog.gov.uk).

Contact us

Contact school transport

Telephone: 0300 300 8339 (If waiting times exceed an hour, lines may be closed to enable calls already in the queue to be dealt with)

Opening hours

8am to 5pm, Monday to Thursday
8am to 4:30pm, Friday
Lines are closed Wednesday 10am to 2pm for training.